The Court of Appeal of Sassari (Sardinia) has closed the case for the extradition of the former president of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont after learning of the withdrawal of the current Euro-order of the investigating judge of the criminal case against those responsible for the process, Pablo Llarena, who in January annulled the Euro-warrant for sedition that weighed against the independence leader after the reform of the Penal Code promoted by the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
As stated in the order, on March 7, Llarena notified the Italian court of the expiration of the European arrest warrant, for which reason the Court has verified that "there is no title on the basis of which to execute the ongoing procedure ” and is therefore declared “extinct”.
"It was something expected and a logical consequence of the withdrawal of the Euro-order," Puigdemont's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, commented to this newspaper after hearing the news.
Puigdemont was arrested in September 2021 upon landing at l'Alguer airport, in Sardinia, where he had gone from Brussels to participate in a Catalan popular culture event.
After spending a night in prison, the former president was released without precautionary measures and finally the Sassari Court of Appeal temporarily suspended the proceedings for the Euro-warrant presented by Llarena, establishing that the open issues in Europe had to be resolved first, making it clear that the Italian justice did not intend to act on its own in this matter. In fact, according to sources close to the former president, Puigdemont spent his last summer vacation in Italy without problems.
In January, and after the reform of the Criminal Code, Llarena withdrew the crime of sedition against the former president after the repeal, but maintained his prosecution for aggravated embezzlement, which can lead to up to twelve years in prison, and disobedience, something that he confirmed today in a car. Judge Llarena has rejected the appeals of both the accusations and the defenses against the resolution by which he modified the prosecution of Puigdemont, the former ministers Toni Comí, Lluís Puig and Clara Ponsatí, as well as the general secretary of ERC Marta Rovira. However, Judge Llarena will not issue a new Euro-warrant for embezzlement against the former president until there is a definitive response from the European Justice on his immunity, something that could take several months.
